2017 Life Logs, Days 143: Lunch with Jane and Olivia
Date: Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Weather: Partly Cloudy and Much Warmer; High Temp in the 70’s F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA
I spent my morning working on family genealogy. It is so easy to get lost in the details, and I’m afraid that’s what happened to me this morning. It makes me crazy to find official records that don’t match. My parents’ second child was born on April 30, 1926, but different West Virginia state records have him dying three years later on September 13 and on September 18 but being buried on September 14. He could have died on September 13 and been buried the next day, but he couldn’t have been born on the 18th and buried on the 14th. We have no official family record of this, so I’ll go with death on the 13th and burial on the 14th. But the real issue is that I shouldn’t have gotten sucked into that level of detail. I’m trying to put something together a story for the younger members of the family about their history. They could care less about a specific date. So from now on, I have to keep thinking of the big picture.
I met good friends Olivia and Jane at a close-by restaurant for lunch. Somehow the three of us find ways to keep ourselves too busy to visit with each other very often, so we’ll just have to make sure we have lunch together at least once a week this summer. After lunch, it took me about two minutes to drive home and do a few things before heading to East Falmouth to pick Jonah up from school. One of the great things about living in the middle of town is that I am never far from ‘home base’, so it is easy to head home, do a couple of things, and head out again. I needed to pick Jonah up today because Jed had picked Sam up a bit earlier to take him to the dentist and Heather was picking Ollie up in Woods Hole to bring him to East Falmouth Elementary for his kindergarten orientation. Can’t believe that little one is going to be in kindergarten next year. I hope he will be as happy at the end of the school day as Jonah is this year. Anytime I have picked Jonah up this spring, he is just as happy as can be. How wonderful!
Jonah and I headed home and I stayed to get dinner. Jed wasn’t sure what time he would be home with Sam and Heather had to head out as soon as she and Ollie returned from kindergarten orientation. Tonight was the school district VIP Recognition Dinner for those who volunteer their time, so it is an event Heather has attended for all of the years since Sam entered kindergarten. Busy as she is, she always finds time to volunteer in some capacity in the schools her children attend. In her absence, Jed, the boys, and myself had a great taco dinner.
Tomorrow is a full day of focusing on the family genealogy project—no details. I just have to keep thinking BIG picture thoughts.
